Indonesia to further harness its capabilities

The Indonesian government’s goal is to establish processing companies on a firm footing throughout the country. This is designed to put in place the preconditions required for making Indonesia one of the leaders in Asia in terms of a manufacturing base. Although economic growth has in recent years lost a bit of its momentum, in 2014 the Indonesian economy, with a 5% rise in GDP, was still performing with notable success. This is unlikely to change in the near future.

Besides the construction industry and the food-processing sector, it’s primarily the automotive industry that’s booming in Indonesia at present. The Association of the Indonesian Automotive Industry (Gaikindo) is predicting that between 2014 and 2017 the local automotive industry will be upsizing its production capacities from 1.3 to 2.2 million units. In particular, the Japanese manufacturers Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Toyota, and most recently Honda and Nissan as well, intend to upgrade Indonesia into an export hub for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

Prijono Sugiarto, the Indonesian Chairman of the German-Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, regards this development in particular as providing optimum potential for German companies to gain a better foothold in the local market. To quote Prijono Sugiarto: “I see a stronger presence of German automakers as a crucial key to success, since this will entail a direct pull effect for German machine tool manufacturers. Coupled with the currently rising propensity to invest, plus the industry-friendly, progress-driven policies of the Indonesian government, it can be anticipated that Indonesia’s manufacturing base will be continually upgraded. So what could be more logical for this purpose than to opt for top-quality products from Germany?”